Copernical Team
Chinese study suggests excess argon in lunar soil may come from Earth wind
Chinese researchers have proposed that surplus argon-40 detected in lunar soil may originate from a stream of particles escaping Earth's atmosphere, a process they describe as Earth wind. The work, led by the Northwest Institute of Eco-environment and Resources (NIEER) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was published in the planetary science journal Icarus.
Argon, a noble gas found in Blue Origin teams with Luxembourg on Oasis 1 lunar resource mapping mission
Blue Origin has announced Project Oasis, a multi-phase campaign to identify and utilize lunar resources. The first mission, Oasis-1, will work with Luxembourg partners to produce the most detailed orbital maps yet of water ice, Helium-3, radionuclides, rare earth elements, and precious metals across the lunar surface.
Oasis-1 will use neutron spectroscopy at ultra-low orbital altitudes to Rocket Lab Expands Synspective Partnership with 10 Additional Electron Launches
Rocket Lab has signed a new agreement with Japanese Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite operator Synspective for 10 more dedicated Electron launches. The deal brings the total number of contracted Electron missions for Synspective to 21, marking the largest single-customer order in Rocket Lab's history.
The latest contract follows a June 2024 agreement for multiple launches, underscor Germany pledges EUR35 bn for space defence against Russia, China
Germany will spend 35 billion euros ($41 billion) on outer space defence by 2030, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Thursday, citing the threat posed by Russia and China.
"Russia and China have in recent years rapidly expanded their capabilities for conducting warfare in space," he said.
"They can disrupt, jam, manipulate or even physically destroy satellites. In space, there are n Maintaining US space dominance requires rapid and reliable delivery of new systems
Winning in space depends on accelerating the way capabilities are developed and delivered, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told thousands attending the Air, Space and Cyber Conference on Sept. 23. He emphasized that future superiority hinges on force design, system acquisition, and delivering tools Guardians can employ immediately.
Saltzman cited recent progress in GPS accur Sierra Space Dream Chaser's NASA deal upended, 1st flight pushed to late 2026
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Australians want to spend more on space—but we don't really know where we're going
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ESA at IAC 2025 - highlights from Day 3
The third day of the 76th International Astronautical Congress was again full of interactions between the European Space Agency and international partners.
Sea-level monitoring satellite unboxed
Following its arrival in California a few weeks ago, the time has come for spacecraft engineers to ready the next sea-level monitoring satellite, Copernicus Sentinel-6B, for launch, which is slated for November.
The first step has been to carefully remove this precious new satellite from its storage container and to start a series of comprehensive checks.
Advancing Europe’s quantum secure communications from space
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a €50 million contract with aerospace company Thales Alenia Space to begin the preliminary design phase of the Security And cryptoGrAphic (SAGA) mission. This agreement enables SAGA to continue to its preliminary design review, marking a relevant step towards establishing secure, space-based communications using quantum technologies.